The Internet and other data networks have facilitated the growth of real-time or near-real-time networked gaming. Players from around the world can log on to a gaming server and enjoy competing against one another in a computer-mediated contest over a computer network, such as the Internet. These matches can be played for fun, entertainment, or for gain.
Bingo is a game of chance involving two or more players. Traditional bingo is played on predetermined “tickets” in the form of paper cards that include a number of symbols selected from a global symbol set and arranged in a row-and-column grid, each grid position containing a symbol. Each ticket generally includes a subset of symbols in the global symbol set. A symbol may be a number selected randomly and without replacement from a number range, for example the number range of 1 through 90. Each bingo ticket contains a different combination and arrangement of symbols. Each bingo ticket may also contain one or more “free” spaces that are not associated with a symbol.
During play of a bingo match, symbols are selected randomly, generally without replacement, from the global symbol set and matched to the symbols on each ticket. A ticket having matching symbols arranged in a pre-defined pattern is a winning ticket and qualifies for the award of a prize. The match ends when one of the players' tickets is the first to exhibit a pre-defined pattern of grid markings. A common match-ending pattern is for all of the grid positions on a ticket to be marked. However other match-ending patterns may be defined. The winner of the match is usually the first player to achieve the match-ending pattern.